Charlotte Meth Lab Explosion Shocks Community

It was about 10:45, Friday night, when Charlotte Police and Fire were called to a former tattoo parlor in Downtown Charlotte.There had been an explosion in the upstairs apartment.

"Found out through an investigation that it was a meth lab that had exploded," said Sgt. Curtis Bristol of Charlotte Police.

Inside, police found several meth components, along with a badly injured 30-year-old, who admitted to cooking meth.Bristol says the suspect was cooking the meth using the 'one-pot' method and that the glass bottle being used exploded in his hand, causing severe cuts and burns.

"He was immediately transported to Sparrow for his injuries," he said. "I heard he was transported to University of Michigan Hospital."

Police finished their investigation, early Saturday morning. The boarded up windows and gaping hole in the side of the building quickly becoming the talk of the town.

"It's crazy. I spent a lot of time there," said Kasey Hammond, who worked in the building several years ago.

Tim Haney, who works as a substance abuse counselor down the street, was also shocked.

"The police station is over there and my business is right there," said Haney. "If it had been a bigger operation, we could have seen this whole building, not just blow up, but burn down and move to the next building over."

Sgt. Bristol says this is the first explosion in Charlotte, this year, but there have already been several other incidents.

For more information on the locations of meth labs, check out Anthony Sabella's special report, "What's Cookin' Next Door".

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